Five Illustrators Share Their Chic Desk Spaces

New York Fashion Week is finally over and for those who aren’t heading to Europe for the London, Paris, and Milan collections (major FOMO), it’s back to the office we go. And so, even though the first of September typically marks “back to school” for most of the world, today is when the fashion set officially returns to their desks. To help make the retreat slightly less ominous, Vogue.com asked five illustrators who know a little something about working with a pencil and paper to let us inside their workspaces. With sketches of desks from Blanda Eggenschwiler, Langley Fox, Joana Avillez, Leanne Shapton, and Olympia Le-Tan, we show you the best ways to keep creative, stay organized, and be totally office chic. The real back to school begins now.

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A native New Yorker, Joana Avillez is an illustrator and author (and sometimes Vogue.com contributor—we loved her sketches of attendees at this year’s Girls’ premiere). Her book Life Dressing: The Idiosyncratic Fashionistas, tells the story of two real-life women who “live to dress and dress to live,” as Avillez puts it. Not surprisingly, she’s working on illustrating Lena Dunham’s first book, the tentatively titled Not That Kind of Girl.

Photo: Courtesy of Joana Avillez

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Describe your workspace.It’s a loft building in Tribeca, in what was once an old cocoa factory according to my neighbor, an architect, who did some research. I work in one large room, with very high ceilings and big windows. The desk was my dad’s—it’s specifically made for drawing, and even has outlets built into the legs!

How do you start your day?I get a coffee at 9 a.m. from the deli on Hudson Street. Since I work from home, it really helps to begin the day with some fresh air. Sometimes I sit outside for a bit and make a list of everything I have to do. When I get back, my house has hopefully become my studio and I am ready.

Do you listen to music while you work?I can’t listen to music when coming up with ideas. But if I’m doing busier work, I listen to This American Life, or NPR until I can’t stand it anymore. I can get stir-crazy working from home, so I try to take a daily dance break. This week it’s been to Ester Dean’s “Drop It Low.”

Where are some of your favorite places to shop for desk items?Besides buying art materials, I don’t necessarily buy new things for my workspace. Instead, I like to pilfer from my family; a carved wooden penholder from Sweden that belonged to my grandmother, a tile from my family in Portugal that makes an excellent coaster, a glass dish from my mom for pushpins, barrettes, and other tiny items. Also, repurposed Portuguese olive oil tins (with those beautiful labels) make for great brush holders.

Do you keep anything on your desk for inspiration?I have a framed photo of my dad drawing. Someone took it when he wasn’t looking, and I love how “in the zone” he looks. If I’m tired, it helps to reenergize me. He’s wearing a bathrobe and slippers.

Any sartorially minded bookworm is probably familiar with Olympia Le-Tan’s whimsically embroidered clutches, which she designs to resemble vintage book covers. Born in London and raised in Paris, Le-Tan caught the art bug from her father, the French illustrator Pierre Le-Tan. Most recently, however, Le-Tan has branched out into fashion. In March of last year, she launched her first ready-to-wear collection, mixing velvets, tartans, college stripes, and Liberty-print fabrics in her very particular (and adorable) way.

Photo: Kristy Sparow/WireImage

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Tell us about your workspace.I’m based in the 2nd arrondissement in Paris. We have a vintage pink and green carpet from Codimat, the walls are pink, and my curtains are pink covered in OLT logos (designed by my father). It’s a classic old Parisian building in the Rue Chabanais, a street certain people know about because one of the most renowned brothels used to be at number 12. I sit on an orange Marc Newson chair behind a white Scandinavian desk and a very large computer screen. My walls are covered in my father’s drawings, pictures of Bettie Page, postcards of vintage book covers, and family photos. I have quite a lot of books in the shelves behind me, children’s books, English and American novels from the forties, graphic design books, and a few photo books.

Do you have any interesting work habits?I like sitting on the floor. I like being in the office on the weekend when nobody is around.

Do you listen to music while you work?Yes. Kate Bush, the Smiths, the Stone Roses, and Leonard Cohen.

Where are some of your favorite places to shop for desk items?My favorite shop is Papier +.

Do you keep anything on your desk for inspiration?I have a nineteenth-century hand-carved ivory tape measure that belonged to my great-great-grandmother, some beautiful scissors from G. Lorenzi in Milan, quite a few Miyazaki plastic figurines. And lots of books in languages I can’t read.

How do you unwind at the end of the day?I lie down on my sofa at home with my cat Fritz.

Born and raised in Zurich, Switzerland, Blanda now lives in New York, where she works full-time in the fields of art, graphic design, and illustration. Her more glamorous background (a former model and current girlfriend of Joe Jonas) is not easy to forget, but we were fans of her T-shirt designs for OBEY.

Photo: Katrin Walther

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Describe your workspace.I work at a big table most of the time, but I also tape larger pieces to the wall. There are pens, pencils, cans, books, and images all over the place.

How do you work best?I zone out completely. I forget time and everything around me. When I get asked how long it took me to finish a specific piece I usually have trouble answering because I simply don’t know! I also prefer to be completely alone when I work. I feel like any observer would cause me to be self-aware and I can’t focus completely on what I am working on. I want to forget the world around me when I work. The only thing that matters is what’s right in front of me. It’s quite meditative, actually.

Do you listen to music?Depending on my mood, and what I am working on, I will listen to bands like Caribou, Ratatat, YACHT, Major Lazer, Foster the People, Theophilus London, the xx, or Phantogram. It’s a long list.

Where are some of your favorite places to shop for desk items?I love art supply stores like Pearl Paint or New York Central on Third Avenue. I could spend days browsing through pens, paint, books, and paper.

How do you unwind at the end of the day?I love to have dinner with friends or watch movies.

Any tips for keeping organized?I am definitely the wrong person to talk to about that! My workspace is organized chaos, as I like to call it. It is a mess, but I always know exactly where everything is. I have to be able to just leave things out so I can come back and continue working where I left off.

A California girl, Langley Fox has deep creative roots—her mother is the actress Mariel Hemingway and her great-grandfather is, of course, Ernest Hemingway. After studying fashion design at Otis College of Art and Design and Parsons The New School, Fox now spends her time as a freelance illustrator and designer, where she’s currently working on finishing a collection of artwork with the photographer Tasya Van Ree. When not traveling (yesterday, for example, she walked for Marc Jacobs), she says you can find her at home, hanging with her cat.

LANGLEY FOX

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Where is your workspace?My workspace is just my living room, but I live alone so you could argue that my living room is my studio.

Describe it.My table and chair are wood. They are unspecific for drawing, but they do the trick. My apartment is on the second level of a two-story house with windows all around, so I am privileged with good light throughout the day. It gets very hot and, without air conditioning, it’s sometimes not the most enjoyable environment, which is when my mind travels to better places (like the forest) to keep me in good spirits. The forest would be my dream studio with perfect temperature, wind and birds, and endless inspiration surrounding me.

Do you listen to music while you work?Well, when I’m not watching something (more likely if I take my art to a café or somewhere that isn’t my house) I listen to my iTunes, which is full of classic rock like Creedence Clearwater Revival, Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, and Harry Nilsson. Old blues are also a favorite of mine, such as Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, and Blind Willie McTell, mixed in with some Cranberries and No Doubt’s Tragic Kingdom. There is obviously a lot more going on in my library, but that’s a pretty good genre breakdown.

Where are some of your favorite places to shop for desk items?I love to go to the art stores Blick and this little one close to my house called Blue Rooster. Also, if I needed to splurge at the Container Store (which I never do), I would.

Any tips for keeping your workspace organized?I tend to be a very organized person anyway, but working with art supplies you have to give in to a little mess here and there. As far as tips, I would say that every time you are finished for the day or night, you should tidy your work spot up and that will allow you to feel better when you return to your work and keep it from building into a giant mess at the end.